Metropolitan Philip Auditorium morphed into Super Bowl Central on Sunday evening, February 3. Fans of the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers clustered around the big screen to watch the game, while students, faculty, and staff—not to mention kids!—enjoyed pizza and snacks.
During the early October fall recess, students enjoyed "Oktoberfest," an evening of relaxation and good food. Campus Chef Nat served up delicious bratwurst and spare ribs (look for his upcoming SVS Press cookbook release When You Feast) and faculty and seminarians alike enjoyed polka music and fellowship.
The next morning, the St. Herman's Society for Orthodox Ecology kicked off the semester recess with Campus Clean-Up Day. After an 8:30 a.m. molieben to the Holy Spirit "At the Beginning of Any Good Work," students set out across the seminary with trash bags, gloves, and rakes. Five workers labored to render the 12–acre campus to pristine condition—often a challenge when surrounded by a populated surburban neighborhood.
Read about the September 1, 2013 lecture sponsored by the St. Herman's Society for Orthodox Ecology.
On the last weekend in October, 2013, students and their families gathered in the Germack building to participate in the "Chili Cook-off & Kids Costume Party." Contestants brought crock pots featuring their special version of chili recipes, and when the winner was announced, no one was surprised that the prize went to legendary St. Vladimir's cook, Fr. Alexander Rentel.
On Sunday, December 8, 2013, the children of the Three Hierarchs Chapel's Sunday community welcomed special guest St. Nicholas for his annual visit to St. Vladimir's Seminary. As is customary, the identity of the good saint was hidden under his abundant white beard. During the celebration, grown ups and kids alike also enjoyed a potluck meal, after which St. Nicholas presented each child with a gift.
The following week, students finished papers, sat for finals, and joyfully made travel and holiday arrangements while breathing a collective sigh of relief at the end of the term.
On November 11, 2013, Seminarians Megan Martha Carlisle and Ashli Moore travelled to Washington, D.C. to represent St. Vladimir's at the pan-Orthodox ecology conference "On Earth as it is in Heaven." The event was sponsored by the Orthodox Fellowship of the Transfiguration and hosted by St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral. The conference focused on practical applications of Orthodox theology and ecology, and presentation topics ranged from examinations of worldwide ecological trends to architectural design in Orthodox parish construction.
His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios delivered the keynote address. "Harmony between heaven and earth, just as between creation and humanity, has always been a fundamental vocation and principle in the Judeo-Christian scripture and tradition, as well as in our Orthodox liturgy and spiritual life," he emphasized.
Martha Carlisle was one of the members of the last panel of the day, in which participants discussed ecological concerns in the context of Orthodox higher education. She said a few words on the subject of campus activism, highlighting the existence of the St. Herman's Society for Orthodox Ecology at St. Vladimir's Seminary and advocating the commingling of work, study, and prayer, with ecological concerns. Earlier that afternoon, St. Vladimir's Seminary Trustee Anne Glynn Mackoul moderated a panel devoted to the topic "Putting Theology into Action in the Parish."
"Our prayers fill us with the hope and humility necessary to carry out our tasks," she noted. "As fallen human beings, we almost never see ourselves clearly. We overestimate our abilities, and believe that we can save the earth ourselves. Or we underestimate them and give up when the problem seems too large. Communion with God keeps us from those extremes. We are not God; but we are his instruments. We cannot do everything, but, with his help, we can do something."
Representatives from Holy Cross Seminary in Brookline, MA, St. Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary in South Canaan, PA, and Orthodox Christian Fellowship (OCF) also attended the conference. The panel moderator was Dr. Alfred Kentigern Siewers, professor of English and Environmental Studies at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, PA.
By Sandro Margheritino, third-year seminarian and Student Council President
The formation of a seminarian happens both inside and outside the classroom. Over the course of the 2013-2014 winter break, three St. Vladimir's seminarians participated in the first-ever International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC) Seminary Action Team. Together with junior seminarian Sara Staff and middler Tor Vegard Svane, I traveled to New Orleans to join nine other seminarians from five Orthodox theological schools to work as part of an IOCC home-build team, in partnership with Habitat for Humanity. The leader of our group, IOCC's Country Representative for the United States Dan Christopulos, was joined by his co-leader The Very Rev. Paul Wesche, rector of St. Herman's Orthodox Church (Orthodox Church in America) and president of the Minnesota Eastern Orthodox Christian Clergy Association.
Thanks to the generosity of many donors, IOCC was able to offer this great opportunity to seminarians for the minimal cost of $150, which included our flight plus our room and board. In the last few years the organization has provided hands-on opportunities for ministry within the United States, allowing students, professionals, and retirees to work together to help out their most vulnerable neighbors. Subsequent to two major hurricanes, Katrina in 2005 and Ike in 2008, IOCC has mobilized teams of volunteers to help build homes for those displaced by these tragic disasters through their long-term partnership with Habitat for Humanity.
Our team flew to New Orleans on the early evening after the Feast of Theophany on January 6, and stayed through Sunday afternoon, January 12. After an orientation on Tuesday morning we split into small teams working in different sections of two houses, sheetrocking ceilings and walls for eight hours each day. Most of us had very little experience in construction, and we made our fair share of mistakes measuring walls incorrectly or putting a few screws in the wrong places. However, the Habitat supervisors patiently guided and taught us what we needed to know; they modeled for us an example of forbearance with our inexperience and care for us personally. We will remember their example when we are called upon to show the same spirit in our future ministry with people we will serve in the Church.
After finishing a full day of physical labor, we were allowed time for reflection and prayers in the evenings. In our open discussions on the team, we learned more about the work of IOCC, and how we might further the cause of Christian charity once we leave St. Vladimir's. We also made time to drive around those neighborhoods of New Orleans that were most devastated by the hurricanes. In the Lower Ninth Ward, many of the lots are still empty, and only a few bricks on the ground indicate where houses once stood, while a number of houses are still severally damaged.
One of the most rewarding aspects of our trip was the inter-seminary fellowship. There are very few events which bring seminarians from different schools and different jurisdictions together. Seminarian Sara Staff commented afterwords that "The IOCC home-build mission trip was especially meaningful in that we worked toward a common goal alongside fellow seminarians from across the United States...gaining a new perspective on missions in general. It was very challenging to be reminded that Christ's love is made manifest through His people ministering to the poor. I hope to cultivate and share all that I have learned!"
Added Seminarian Tor Svane, "As a seminarian we learn many things in the classroom, but there is less time to put into practice the love of Christ in a practical manner such as this. Working in New Orleans together in a physical and down-to-earth context brought us together in a way that academic work couldn't have done. Friendships were made and strengthened through our shared labor and our common goal, and I thank God for this opportunity."
Two deans from the Diocese of the West, Orthodox Church in America (OCA), visited seminarians from their diocese during the last week of February, 2014. The Very Rev. David Brum of the Desert Deanery and The Very Rev. Matthew Tate from the Mission Deanery met with students to hear about their time at St. Vladimir's, and to offer encouragement about future ministry and educational endeavors.
In early April, 2014, a Russian film crew visited St. Vladimir's Seminary to interview people for a documentary on the life and influence of Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann (+1983), former dean of the seminary. The work of these filmmakers was itself filmed by Dn. Gregory Uhrin, an Orthodox Christian and producer at YCN, a TV station that covers south and central Vermont, and New Hampshire's Dartmouth/Lake Sunapee Region.
Deacon Gregory, a member of the Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church in Claremont, NH, where The Very Rev. Andrew Tregubov (SVOTS '95) is pastor, participated one year in the Diaconal Practicum offered each summer at St. Vladimir's. A large part of this local TV production consisted of his interview with Fr. Andrew, and was filmed at the Holy Resurrection parish.
St. Vladimir's Seminary Professor of Hermeneutics and Liturgical Art Richard Schneider recently led a group from his Orthodox Iconology class to New Haven, CT, for a day of viewing Christian art and icons. The class started at an exhibit of Russian icons at the Knights of Columbus Museum. The next stop was the Yale University Art Gallery,where the group viewed wall paintings from the earliest surviving Christian house church at Dura-Europos. Finally, the class visited Yale Divinity School to view an exhibit of icons by the contemporary Greek iconographer George Kordis.
Noted Professor Schneider, "Throughout our day, we moved from the origins of Christian iconography, to Byzantine and post-Byzantine development, to the most recent expressions. In so doing, we saw both the continuity and creativity in iconography as a living and creative language."
The field trips are a vital part of introducing students to Iconology and are indicative of St. Vladimir's ongoing commitment to the liturgical arts. Professor Schneider's regular Spring term class is always open not only to students but to the general public. "This is especially useful for iconographers who are interested in exploring the theological basis for their work," he explained.
Also in the spring, The Rev. Dn. Evan Freeman (SVOTS M.Div. '09, Th.M. '12), Yale University doctoral student in Byzantine and Medieval Art History, offered a talk hosted by the St. Juliana's Society at St. Vladimir's. In his May 19 presentation, "Taste and See: Iconographic Programming in the Liturgy," Dn. Evan encouraged the women of the Society to consider how icons are used in churches and in the Liturgy. Why, for example, are certain icons located in specific parts of the church building? What is the relationship between images and liturgical actions? How do liturgical texts and hymns influence icons?
"As future leaders and teachers in the Church, it is important that we seek to understand the role of icons in the Liturgy and be prepared explain icons to those around us," noted Dn. Evan.
By Seminarian John Mikitish
On October 24th, 2014, St. Vladimir's seminarians and their spouses, together with a number of clergy and clergy-wife registrants from outside the seminary community, attended a seven-hour, multi-part presentation by Dr. Theresa Burke, Ph.D., LPC, NCP, the founder of Rachel's Vineyard ministries, an event sponsored by St. Vladimir's student-run pro life St. Ambrose Society. Dr. Burke's presentation, though focused on post-abortion trauma, touched on wide-ranging issues: the brain chemistry underlying trauma, the psychology of trauma victims, how men are affected by abortion, and the role of the clergy in healing, among others.
Through scientific and statistical analysis, as well as through personal stories garnered from a long career in post-abortion healing, Dr. Burke introduced students to some of the little-known negative consequences of abortion as well as to strategies that can facilitate healing, made possible in and through Christ. Will Rettig, one of the seminarians who elected to attend the entire seminar, commented, "The event offered a good deal of insight how those coping with the loss of a child in pregnancy, by abortion or otherwise, might be processing the ordeal. That such insight would be valuable to those engaged in Christian ministry is clear."
Rachel's Vineyard, now operating throughout the United States and in dozens of countries, is the world's oldest and largest ministry for post-abortion healing. More information about the sponsor, the St Ambrose Society, St. Vladimir's own student-run pro-life group, can be found on its website.
